Twelve large clarifiers sits on the property of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. / Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press

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Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

Suburban officials say they don’t expect to meet today’s deadline for hammering out an agreement on the future of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.

Emergency manager Kevyn Orr set the deadline earlier this year, hoping to have a deal done in time to include revenue projections in the plan of adjustment he submits to the bankruptcy court.

“We all understand the time frame, but this is a very complex issue with a lot of moving parts,” said Deputy Oakland County Executive Robert Daddow. “We’ve been meeting and airing some discussion, and I think we’re moving in the right direction.”

Daddow said based on the talks, today’s deadline seems less important than next month, when the city prepares to submit the plan of adjustment — its blueprint for digging Detroit out of bankruptcy.

Orr initially proposed a long-term deal that would have had the suburbs essentially lease the assets of the water department for about $9 billion in exchange for a greater say in how the operation is run.

Suburban leaders balked at the price. Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson called that offer “dead on arrival,” but said he’d be willing to consider a reasonable lease payment.

Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Anthony Marrocco told the Free Press last week he’s opposed to any lease deal that allows water department revenue to be diverted to the city’s general fund. The state of Michigan isn’t paying any rent to Detroit for its control of Belle Isle, Marrocco said.

The water department is considered one of Detroit’s most valuable assets, and Orr has been looking for a way to monetize it as part of restructuring city government.

The department also has long been a source of friction between the city, which owns it, and the suburbs, where three-quarters of the customers now live. The trial of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick exposed rampant corruption in the department’s contracting practices, reinforcing suburban suspicious about its operation.